Refraction.

Captivity.

I ought to sleep,
But there is something in the air -
The humming of a hive of bees, perhaps,
Or the steady beat of the albatross' wings
As he seeks a place to spend the night.
Perhaps it might be the footsteps of
One hundred thousand ants,
As they work their lives away,
Or might it be the gurgling river
As it commandeers a path across the land?
Maybe there's a pack of wild dogs,
Howling as the moon rises once again,
Or perhaps what I hear could be
The thudding of hooves out in the fields.
It could be whistle of the wind
Through those moonlit valleys tonight,
Or the rustling of the grand pine trees
As an ensemble of little creatures
Search for something to eat.
Maybe the coo of the pigeons is now a symphony,
Or that thing that keeps me awake
Could just as easily be those earthworms,
As they churn through the dirt,
Hoping to avoid the mole, the magpie, the robin,
Just as the robin, the magpie and the mole
Hope to avoid the mighty red kite -
It seems to remain stationary in the sky,
Wings spread wide to maintain a magnificent glide.
I am awake, for the world is too:
Sometimes I fail to notice the wonders all around,
So it seems they are calling to me.
The moon hangs low tonight, but I desire
To leave this room; to dance with each blade of grass,
And to feel the dewdrops beneath my feet.
Only now do I realise that each is a tiny miracle -
The likelihood of all these things living is so minute.
In this moment, I scorn convention:
The humming bees, the albatross, the ants,
That vivacious river, those feral dogs,
The horses in the fields, the howling of the wind
Through those beautiful valleys,
The scurrying creatures within the ancient trees,
My cacophony of pigeons, and, of course,
The earthworm, the mole, the magpie, the robin,
The mighty red kite -
I long to be where I belong tonight,
And that is with them, beneath the stars,
No roof above above my head.
My true nature, that of all creatures, is rebelling against
The airs and graces that we've tainted ourselves with;
It is that nature that keeps me awake,
That seeks to leave this cage of brick and mortar,
The circus of society, the leash of the daily grind...
We are complex beings, like all others,
And thus we crave simplicity.